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David Folkenflik Folkenflik is NPR's media correspondent.
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David Folkenflik

Europe

British Panel Told Phone-Hacking Was Necessary

The wide-ranging inquiry into criminal abuses by the British press has led to testimony about relationships and careers damaged by tabloid excess. Newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. are at the heart of the scandal. A former features editor for one of those papers stole the show at Tuesday's hearing.

British Panel Told Phone-Hacking Was Necessary

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By Attacking The Media, Gingrich Built A Following

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has relished attacking the journalists questioning him during the GOP debates. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption

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Newt Gingrich

By Attacking The Media, Gingrich Built A Following

Gingrich may have found his voice by turning the tables on the political press. Republicans have been doing this fourth-estate two-step for decades — quite explicitly at least since Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew in 1968. That might work for the back of the pack, but how will it play for a front-runner?

By Attacking The Media, Gingrich Built A Following

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Media

Murdoch Son Grilled Over Phone-Hacking Scandal

A steady drip of revelations in the News Corp. phone-hacking scandal has called into question James Murdoch's testimony before a parliamentary committee in July. Murdoch has been asked back to clarify the discrepancies.

Murdoch Son Grilled Over Phone-Hacking Scandal

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Media

James Murdoch To Testify Again On Hacking Scandal

Rupert Murdoch's son James has been called back to testify before a Parliamentary committee in London. He faces questions over his previous testimony about the phone-hacking and police bribery scandal involving a defunct News Corp. publication.

James Murdoch To Testify Again On Hacking Scandal

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Andy Rooney, '60 Minutes' Commentator, Dies

Journalist Andy Rooney poses in his office at CBS in New York City on June 19, 1998. Rooney delivered his first 60 Minutes commentary on July 2, 1978. Jim Cooper/AP hide caption

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Jim Cooper/AP

Obituaries

Andy Rooney, '60 Minutes' Commentator, Dies

A distinctive voice — and character — in television news has died. Andy Rooney, who was 92, was a signature essayist for CBS News for decades. Rooney was one of the most famous curmudgeons in American public life.

Andy Rooney, '60 Minutes' Commentator, Dies

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Murdoch Confronts Critics At News Corp. Meeting

Protesters demonstrate outside the News Corp. annual shareholder meeting at Fox Studios in Los Angeles on Friday.

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Media

Murdoch Confronts Critics At News Corp. Meeting

The company held its first shareholder's meeting since the U.K. phone-hacking scandal erupted. Outside, protesters assembled to condemn News Corp.'s leadership. Inside, investors protested, too.

Murdoch Confronts Critics At News Corp. Meeting

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Media

Some News Corp Investors Aim To Challenge Murdoch

The annual meeting of News Corp's shareholders will take place this Friday under unusual circumstances — a growing number of corporate governance advisers and a significant number of investors are calling for the Murdoch family and their close allies to loosen their hold on the corporation's board. This follows the phone hacking and police corruption scandal in the U.K. that has enveloped James Murdoch and his former top lieutenants, as well as subsequent questions about the larger company's governance and structure. As the Murdochs control about 40 percent of voting stock and a sympathetic Saudi prince controls another 7 percent, there is almost no mathematical chance they can be forced to relinquish control on a vote. However, it represents a moment at which notable opposition has built up against the Murdochs — both outside and inside the corporate sphere.

Some News Corp Investors Aim To Challenge Murdoch

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Tracking The Media's Eye On Occupy Wall Street

Protesters with Occupy Wall Street march along New York's 5th Avenue, where prominent heads of major business and financial institutions live, on Tuesday. The movement has expanded, along with media coverage.

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Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Media

Tracking The Media's Eye On Occupy Wall Street

At first, the complaint from the left was that news organizations had ignored the movement. But as they swung their gaze, journalists weren't quite sure how to characterize what they saw. Lacking easy labels, Occupy Wall Street proved difficult for the media to categorize — and to cover.

Tracking The Media's Eye On Occupy Wall Street

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New NPR Chief Faces Tough Funding Choices

Incoming NPR CEO and President Gary Knell.

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Sesame Workshop

Media

New NPR Chief Faces Tough Funding Choices

Children's television executive Gary Knell has new ideas about raising money for the network — and he may well need them. He is taking over NPR at a time when taxpayer support is under fire.

NPR's New Chief Faces Tough Choices On Funding

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NPR Turns To Public Television For New Leader

Gary Knell, incoming president and CEO of NPR. sesameworkshop.org hide caption

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sesameworkshop.org

Business

NPR Turns To Public Television For New Leader

Gary Knell will take over as CEO and president after a rocky year in which the network lost several top executives and faced renewed funding challenges. He currently leads the company behind Sesame Street and other beloved children's shows.

NPR Turns To Public Television For New Leader

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News Corp.'s U.K. Actions Under Scrutiny In U.S.

The News Corp. headquarters in New York City. Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

Media

News Corp.'s U.K. Actions Under Scrutiny In U.S.

The newest legal front for Rupert Murdoch's media giant involves the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a 1977 law banning U.S. firms from paying bribes to government officials abroad. The British division of the U.S. company has admitted that private investigators working for one of its newspapers paid police for information from confidential databases.

News Corp.'s U.K. Actions Under Scrutiny In U.S.

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Media

Methods Of Palin Book Author Draw Ire

Joe McGinniss stirred controversy with his book The Rogue on Sarah Palin even before it came out. Last summer, he moved in next door to Palin's lakeside home in Wasilla, Alaska, and was denounced as a stalker. His book is crammed with anecdotes of wrongdoing and hypocrisy in her public and private lives — but he's also drawing just as much attention for how he reported his tale.

Methods Of Palin Book Author Draw Ire

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Al Sharpton's Unlikely Rise To MSNBC Host

The Rev. Al Sharpton is the host of MSNBC's PoliticsNation. Stephen J Boitano/AP hide caption

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Stephen J Boitano/AP

Media

Al Sharpton's Unlikely Rise To MSNBC Host

MSNBC's newest opinion host is the Rev. Al Sharpton, a figure much better known for a past in which he cast more heat than light. With his new job, Sharpton is now on his third act in public life: from a civil rights activist to a player in the Democratic Party to, now, a cable talk show host.

Al Sharpton's Unlikely Rise To MSNBC Host

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Media

British Panel Questions Former Murdoch Executives

A parliamentary committee in London summoned four former top officials for Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper empire to face questions about the tabloid phone-hacking scandal there. Those former executives contradicted previous testimony from their old boss: James Murdoch.

British Panel Questions Former Murdoch Executives

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